Recently, I’ve had a number of people inquire about getting free internet access. This article is an attempt to supply some legitimate ways to have free internet in your home. Be aware, that this article intends to help people save money on internet access. Therefore, service won’t be robust enough to stream video.
If you are looking for internet service capable of streaming video, check out these affordable home internet service providers.
Now let’s look at legitimate ways to get free internet service in your home.
FreedomPop Free Internet
FreedomPop offers sales pitch geared to customers that are on a mission to save money. They offer a $0 per month internet plan called “FreedomPop Basic.” This plan provides internet access with 500 MB of data per month. While that isn’t much it’s enough to do some casual internet surfing and check email.
The service requires you to purchase a 4G wireless internet hotspot device, currently starting at $19.99. However, after that one-time startup cost the service is literally a free 500 MB per month internet service. Furthermore, the speed of the service is around 10 Mbps. That’s remarkable for free internet.
So what is the catch? You have to manage your data usage. The system defaults to an auto rebill. They call this an “Automatic Top-Up.” When your monthly usage hits 400 MB you will incur a $15 dollar charge that is used to purchase more data at $0.02 per 1 MB.
You can turn this off, log into your account. Then, go into Billing >> Billing Settings. From there you can uncheck “Automatic Top-up.” At that time, you will be charged $5.00. FreedomPop requires $5.00 of credit in your account in case small data leaks push you over the 500 MB limit.
I strongly recommend turning off the “Auto top off.” Sure, your internet will shut off at 500 MB, but that is better than paying around $20.00 a Gigabyte. However, if you need more data you can get the 2GB for $19.99 a month plan, but that isn’t free.
Is FreedomPop Internet Really Free
Like most internet services, you do need to buy a router/hotspot. However, FreedomPop gives you a device at an affordable price with no monthly fees. You also need to maintain a $5.00 balance. Barring those costs, the actual monthly internet service with the FreedomPop Basic plan really is free. You can sign up at their website.
Free Dial Up Internet
NetZero
NetZero has been providing internet access for nearly 2 decades. Many don’t know this, but you can still get free dial up internet access from NetZero. However, it is capped at 10 hours of use per month. It is truly free, albeit slow, internet access.
You can register for your free account and use this list of access numbers to dial in. Yes, you will need a phone modem for your computer for this to work. They do offer free email support to help get you set up. Although, you will need to pay if you want phone support.
Juno
Juno, like NetZero, offers 10 hours a month free internet access. The service is dial-up like NetZero so it is much slower than even a smartphone connected over 3G. Again, you will need a phone modem to connect. They offer thousands of access numbers nationwide. You can sign up for a Juno account here.
Free Wi-Fi Internet
Sure, I said I wasn’t going to list every Starbucks that has free Wi-Fi. This article is about getting internet access in your home. However, many municipal and community projects provide free Wi-Fi to citizens.
Furthermore, if you live next to a business that offers free Wi-Fi, you may be able to use it in your home. The website Wi-Fi Free Spot http://www.wififreespot.com/ tracks all the free Wi-Fi internet access in the U.S. by state. It covers businesses, municipal Wi-Fi, and community Wi-Fi projects as well.
Be aware that using public Wi-Fi will leave your system exposed to security threats. A way to mitigate this issue is using a VPN service.
If this article didn't answer your specific question, head over to our Home Page! It will guide you to affordable internet providers, streaming services to meet your needs, information on antennas, and many more tools and resources to help you save money on TV and Internet access.
For the latest news tips and tricks on cutting the cord and other tech topics be sure to follow our Google News Feed, like our Facebook Page and Follow Us on Twitter.